Google announced a brand-new Google+ app for tablets today—but the presentation was quickly overshadowed by a jaw-dropping demo involving cofounder Sergey Brin and a couple of skydivers wearing Google Glasses.

Brin "interrupted" a speech being given by Google VP Vic Gundotra, coming on stage wearing a pair of the forthcoming Project Glass smart glasses. It quickly became clear that Brin was about to hold a live video "Hangout" on Google+ with a couple of Googlers who were flying over San Francisco in a plane.

Live streaming the skydive with Google Glass

Dan Goodin, Ars Technica

After chatting for a few minutes, the Googlers skydived out of the plane, live streaming the jump through their Google Glasses to a raucous Google I/O crowd. Naturally, this was followed by some bicyclists performing crazy jumps and streaming their exploits through the futuristic glasses.

It turns out an "Explorer Edition" of the glasses is available for pre-order—but only to people attending the Google I/O conference. The glasses will cost $1,500 and ship early next year.

Brin stressed it is not yet a consumer device. This is for testers, to help Google make the product better.

"It's going to be something we'd like to get in hands of people who are really passionate about it," Brin said. It's going to be rough around the edges, so "you have to want to be on the bleeding edge, and that's what this is designed for."

After the skydiving and bicycling, video was shown of people using the Project Glass prototype while playing tennis, walking on the beach, or holding a baby, letting them easily capture pictures and videos of life events. The glasses have various sensors, including a compass and a gyroscope, and the latest prototype is lighter than "many sunglasses," Google officials said.

Other uses? You might be riding a bike and want to know how fast you're going. The glasses will tell you. Google asked developers to help them figure out what kinds of information users might want from Project Glass devices.

Share your mad billiards skills in real time with Google Glasses.

Dan Goodin, Ars Technica

We still don't know when Google Glasses will hit the consumer market, but damn if the skydiving wasn't cool! You can watch the presentation yourself on the Google I/O site.

Right before the Glass demo, Google announced that Google+ is being liberated from the browser on tablets, with a new app hitting Android tablets today and coming to the iPad soon.

"We keep hearing the same request from users: 'when are we going to get a native tablet version of Google+?' Gundotra said. "The answer is you're going to get it today."

Google+ already has more users on mobile devices than desktops, Gundotra said. The tablet app is immersive, letting users scroll horizontally through friends and acquaintances' posts, which change in size depending on how much engagement each one receives. Photos, text, and videos each have a distinctive look, Gundotra said.

Google+ Hangouts, which provide live, multi-user video chats, will also come to tablets via the new app. Additionally, a new Google+ Events tool was unveiled.

An identical version of the new Google+ app is coming soon for the iPad, optimized for the Retina Display, and all the features hitting tablets will also come to Android smartphones.

Aren't native apps the anti-google? They are the kings of the web, why couldn't they make google+ work like an "app" in the browser? Is it just lack of ability for browser apps to interact with things like the file system and hardware?

I can't wait till someone videos themselves typing into twitter a tweet for the masses to see (Look at me everyone!). Then, forgets they have them on and videos - to the masses - going to the bathroom, and videos - to the masses - their Junk for all the world, and the masses of course, to see.

Wow, yeah, cool.

Oh, so when a teen sub-creature videos their junk and sends it out into the InterTubes, will they be charged with kiddie-porn for all the world to see?

It's a great PR stunt, but how does it show the promise of the glasses? You can strap a smartphone to your head and record video as you skydive already. And, frankly, I can't remember the last time I was hankering to record video as I was skydiving, so I'm not sure what it promises me. People accuse Apple of hype all the time, but it's hard to think of a more stupidly over-hyped product than these glasses. The technology is interesting, but the real-world use doesn't seem the least bit interesting.

I wouldn't call this an incredible demo. In fact, it wasn't really much of a demo at all, just a publicity stunt.

All we got from that was that Glass is a video camera connected to your face, that broadcasts using 3G or something. Over ten years ago I was building devices that did most of the same thing except using WiFi. So this demo wasn't very useful in showing us anything new.

I remember, from a video some months ago, that Glass does what our phones do in show virtual images overlaying the scene in front of where you are looking. Convenient, as you don't have to hold a phone in front of you, but otherwise, again, nothing new.

If this cost $299, it would be interesting, but for $1,500, it's just an expensive toy. I'm disappointed that they didn't show some real applications for this today other than voyouragistic uses.

That last shot makes me wonder about using glass to calculate pool shots, rather than just the video. It doesn't seem all that impossible anymore, with image recognition and the amount of processing power we can carry in small devices anymore. Initial thoughts about Glass were skeptical, but it's really starting to become cooler and cooler.

Sure, initially there's questions about what you're supposed to use it for, but there's a billion ideas for it. They just have to be stumbled upon.

They still look super dumb. The core idea is neat but the packaging just isn't right.

Wait for iGlasses

They will all be dumb unless it can be shown that they can do something more than a phone or tablet. So far, there's nothing about them that does. I would also think that this is extremely dangerous to use while crossing the street, and especially while driving. Now I know that someone will say that people won't use them while driving, but we all know that it's not true.

I saw the keynote live, and I have to say that the Glasses demo - live on stage and through Google Hangouts/Glasses - was just incredible. Literally out of this world. I haven't seen anything like this, and doubt I will see anything similar in the near future.

Just incredible. That's all I can say. Am glad to have watched it live.

They still look super dumb. The core idea is neat but the packaging just isn't right.

Wait for iGlasses

They will all be dumb unless it can be shown that they can do something more than a phone or tablet. So far, there's nothing about them that does. I would also think that this is extremely dangerous to use while crossing the street, and especially while driving. Now I know that someone will say that people won't use them while driving, but we all know that it's not true.

Yes because answering your phone is so much safer. Get real. People are going to use electronic devices while driving. It IS going to happen. If you have to do it, better it be a HUD.

I wouldn't call this an incredible demo. In fact, it wasn't really much of a demo at all, just a publicity stunt.

All we got from that was that Glass is a video camera connected to your face, that broadcasts using 3G or something. Over ten years ago I was building devices that did most of the same thing except using WiFi. So this demo wasn't very useful in showing us anything new.

I remember, from a video some months ago, that Glass does what our phones do in show virtual images overlaying the scene in front of where you are looking. Convenient, as you don't have to hold a phone in front of you, but otherwise, again, nothing new.

If this cost $299, it would be interesting, but for $1,500, it's just an expensive toy. I'm disappointed that they didn't show some real applications for this today other than voyouragistic uses.

You're leaving out an important part, which is that if it uses 3G it will also require a data plan, which would make this way more expensive than just the 1500 buck initial cost. I'll pass on yet ANOTHER device that needs a data plan, especially if unlimited data is non-existent by the time they come out.

That last shot makes me wonder about using glass to calculate pool shots, rather than just the video. It doesn't seem all that impossible anymore, with image recognition and the amount of processing power we can carry in small devices anymore. Initial thoughts about Glass were skeptical, but it's really starting to become cooler and cooler.

Sure, initially there's questions about what you're supposed to use it for, but there's a billion ideas for it. They just have to be stumbled upon.

Assuming that Google can refine the design to the point where they look more like normal glasses, then I reckon a heads up display for presentation notes would be a killer app. At the moment it would be a bit too obvious that your impressively off-the-cuff presentation is being read off your glasses.

Am I the only person who sees the pool cue and balls and thinks "OMG PLEASE add some sort of vector overlay that shows where the balls are predicted to go!" Or at least predicts the heading and impact point of the white ball...

Am I the only person who sees the pool cue and balls and thinks "OMG PLEASE add some sort of vector overlay that shows where the balls are predicted to go!" Or at least predicts the heading and impact point of the white ball...

Aren't native apps the anti-google? They are the kings of the web, why couldn't they make google+ work like an "app" in the browser? Is it just lack of ability for browser apps to interact with things like the file system and hardware?

Yep. Browser based content is great, but it's limited. You can't access the file system, you can't hook into user and application events (ie, automatic uploads when you take a picture), and you have limited ability to provide offline access. Additionally, web apps are imperfect because many mobile browsers have in-built limitations, like iOS doesn't allow inline video unless it's a native app, etc.

I'm a web dev and a big proponent of web apps, but I am also realistic about their limitations.

At $1500, what can these glasses do that a combination of camera strapped to head + bluetooth headset + speech recognition cannot? And is that extra functionality worth it?

When you see a woman in the bar, the glasses will facial-recognize her, and show you a list of how many web-sites her ex-boyfriends have posted her nudes on, and what kinds of STD's she has after cross-comparing with various info on the web.

I could see them somehow pairing these with your cellphone through Bluetooth or WiFi pairing. I would name my first born Sergey or Larry for a pair of these...

coalminds wrote:

melgross wrote:

I wouldn't call this an incredible demo. In fact, it wasn't really much of a demo at all, just a publicity stunt.

All we got from that was that Glass is a video camera connected to your face, that broadcasts using 3G or something. Over ten years ago I was building devices that did most of the same thing except using WiFi. So this demo wasn't very useful in showing us anything new.

I remember, from a video some months ago, that Glass does what our phones do in show virtual images overlaying the scene in front of where you are looking. Convenient, as you don't have to hold a phone in front of you, but otherwise, again, nothing new.

If this cost $299, it would be interesting, but for $1,500, it's just an expensive toy. I'm disappointed that they didn't show some real applications for this today other than voyouragistic uses.

You're leaving out an important part, which is that if it uses 3G it will also require a data plan, which would make this way more expensive than just the 1500 buck initial cost. I'll pass on yet ANOTHER device that needs a data plan, especially if unlimited data is non-existent by the time they come out.

You're leaving out an important part, which is that if it uses 3G it will also require a data plan, which would make this way more expensive than just the 1500 buck initial cost. I'll pass on yet ANOTHER device that needs a data plan, especially if unlimited data is non-existent by the time they come out.

Use your smartphone hotspot for now... later you can ditch the phone completely because it'll be your cellphone as well as the hotspot for all your other devices.